It Was A Busy Weekend For Cambria Suites In New York

Lots of new hotels are going up in New York City these days, but this weekend proved particularly hectic for Cambria Suites, the all-suites hotel chain owned by Choice Hotels.

After breaking ground on a new 130-room hotel in White Plains on Friday, the team then headed to Manhattan on Saturday, where they officially broke ground on a 196-room property in Times Square, followed by another 135-room property in Chelsea (rendering shown above).

The gimmick was meant to underscore Cambria Suites' renewed commitment to entering the New York hotel market. Though the brand first launched in Appleton, Wisconsin in 2007, not much headway has been made on conquering larger cities like New York, Chicago, Washington DC and San Francisco. Now, Cambria seems to be re-thinking its game plan. On Friday, Choice Hotels CEO Steve Joyce told the Washington Post:

"When you start a brand — no offense to anybody from Wisconsin — but that's not usually where you want to start."

Zing!

The triple Cambria project in New York will eventually yield a total of 461 hotel rooms, and represents about $141 million in investment dollars. But mostly, it's just exciting to be building three hotels simultaneously within a 30-mile radius of each other.

While Cambria Suites White Plains is set to open next summer, TImes Square and Chelsea won't be ready until mid-2014. Additionally, a new Miami property is expected to open next summer as well.

Cambria hopes to establish itself in the "upscale lodging segment" (who doesn't these days, right?), targeting customers who regularly stay at places like Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn (which, interestingly, will be located right next to the new Cambria Chelsea on W 28th St).

Though in the end, low prices will likely be what keep guests coming back to Cambria Suites. A night at the Cambria Suites Columbus, OH will set you back $126.95/night. But this is New York, so we're guessing rates will start closer to $250/night when the hotels debut in 2014.